There was huge buzz last week that Prince Harry was dining at Maile's Thai Bistro at the Hawaii Kai Towne Center. "We saw him walk in (part of a party of three), and he avoided eye contact," said waitress Jennifer Hintnaus. "When I asked him, 'You look exactly like ' and he said 'You're right, I am.' He was the right height, the right color and the accent." Turns out that he was a dead-ringer for the son of Prince Charles, the prince of Wales, and the late Diana, princess of Wales, who had a convincing Brit-sounding clip (he's a Kiwi); he's a tennis recruit at Hawai'i Pacific University. Folks, including restaurant manager Kekoa Ornellas, wondered why there weren't security folks lurking around the real McCoy. But hey, he wasn't, and it was fun while the mystery unraveled.

HOLIDAYS: It will be a Joyeux Noel and a Bonne Annee for Mark and Leah Bernstein — he's the lawyer, she's the president of the Mountain Apple Co. — since they'll spend Christmas in Paris and New Year's in Lyon. "The trip marks our 40th year together, though it's our 34th year as a married couple," said Leah.

Loretta Ables Sayre will be in our midst this month, taking a pre-Christmas vacation, but will return to her Tony-nominated Bloody Mary role in Lincoln Center's hit musical, "South Pacific."

Joy Abbott will be home for part of the holidays. She's recovering from surgery — the good news is that the theater buff soon will be able to hit golf balls as her nerves regenerate. She trekked from her Florida retreat to Philly and The Big Apple, attending an Actor's Fund gala hosted by Annette Bening and Paul McCartney at the Minskoff Theatre, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, which sponsors the annual Mr. Abbott award named after her late husband, the Broadway icon George Abbott, bestowed on her pal, Donald Saddler, the Broadway choreographer. Joy hobnobbed with such luminaries as Jude Law, Marcia Gay Harden, Kevin McCollum, Raul Esparza, Jane Alexander, Tommy Tune and Debra Monk.

That was Jon Gosselin of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" at Cheeseburger Beachwalk a few days back — but minus Kate and the eight.

BACKSTAGE BIT: It's a coup for Manoa Valley Theatre, which secured production rights to Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County," for its 2010-11 season. Glenn Cannon will direct; be ready for a lively, seductive and edgy dark comedy about a dyslexic family, tackling alcoholism, racism, pedophilia, sexual harassment, suicide, incest and other startling themes with profound, often funny, bursts of expletives undeleted. MVT producing director Dwight Martin saw the national touring company last week in Washington, D.C., and told his staff they've got this hottie, whose running time is three hours and 20 minutes — with two intermissions. We saw it in the 2008 season in New York — it's exhaustive and exhilarating, bolder but with the "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" spirit.

BALLET HIGH: Ballet Hawai'i's "Nutcracker" is at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center this weekend, with New York City Ballet's Megan Fairchild (Sugar Plum Fairy) and Andrew Veyette (Cavalier) in the cast. The pair return later for the Blaisdell Concert Hall shows Dec. 18, 19 and 20, but Twyla Tharp's John Selya (Drosselmeyer), who also is on Maui, will linger for the Honolulu performances — and spend the wait time surfing.

And that's Show Biz.